In between
by AnonLion
Summary: Even after her unexpected encounter with Zira Kiara wants to see Kovu one more time to say goodbye, but after doing so the sudden burden of being queen finally sinks in and Kiara begins to doubt she's fit for such an important task. Watch as Kiara struggles to accept her assigned role in the Circle of Life to become the confident princess we see in the Lion Guard.
1. Chapter 1

**With the Lion Guard confirming Simba's Pride is considered canon I started having sudden ideas of what happened in the in between from when Kiara meets Kovu up to the Lion Guard, mostly because I couldn't help noticing Kiara's character developtment from one time to the other.**

 **This will be a short story focusing on the characters, mostly Kiara, as they develop after their first encounter with Zira. Please enjoy!**

* * *

As the sun set in the horizon Kiara looked back one more time to the Outlands with a sigh. After that experience and her father's words her mind was overwhelmed enough, and dwelling too much on what had happened wouldn't do her any good.

Figuring she could think everything more calmly tomorrow Kiara climbed back to Pride Rock to where Simba had gone in. However as she stepped in Kiara halted to a stop at seeing Simba addressing the entire pride.

"Some time ago in the past I had already forbidden going to the Outlands, but after today I'm taking more drastic measures. No one is to go near the Outlands, not even for hunting, and if someone were to do otherwise there will consequences."

There were whispers and worried looks exchanged among the pride, but no one dared to say anything.

When there were no objections Simba turned back to exit Pride Rock. As he walked out he saw Kiara looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite read, and smiled down tiredly at her.

"You should go to sleep."

Kiara didn't say anything and watched as Simba left, noticing how not so far behind Nala made her way towards him. She would have thought that Nala would talk to her too, but her mother seemed to be more focused on talking to Simba, so taking that as her cue Kiara decided she would go to sleep early that day.

Walking outside Nala found Simba quietly sitting by himself and sat down beside him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just… thinking."

Simba didn't seem angry or scared, but hesitant.

"Everyone understands why you did it." Nala spoke up, referring to his previous announcement.

"That's not it." Simba sighed shaking his head. "I'm really considering not letting Kiara leave Pride Rock again."

"You can't be serious." Nala's eyes widened. "Simba, keeping her locked in won't solve anything, do you have any idea how that would make her feel?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Simba turned to look at Nala angrily, raising his voice. "You heard what Zira said. What if she wants to do something to Kiara?"

Nala scowled indignant in Simba's direction.

"You don't think I'm worried too? I'm as concerned as you are for Kiara's wellbeing!"

When Simba looked away from Nala in defeat Nala took a moment to calm down her slowly rising temper. They both wanted their daughter to be safe, there was no point in arguing about it.

"I'm scared too." Nala mumbled, nuzzling Simba's mane. "But we can't do that to Kiara, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know." Simba sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

Nala looked up sadly at Simba. She couldn't say she blamed him, Zira's words were still fresh in her mind and so was her warning, but there had to be a better way to go around it.

"What am I supposed to do Nala?"

Nala stood silent for a moment, thinking how to properly reply.

"We don't have to keep her locked in, but we can watch over her if she stays close."

When Simba didn't say anything Nala looked in his direction and was relieved at seeing he was considering her proposal.

"Would that make you feel better?" Nala asked, urging Simba to answer.

It wasn't a solid solution but it was good enough to calm down his nerves, at least for now.

"Yeah, yeah it would."

Nala smiled when Simba finally nuzzled her back. Though they were both sure that it was yet to be over as of now they could rest easy for the night, it had been a long day.

* * *

"Kiara _what_ exactly happened yesterday?"

"And are you okay? Simba looked really upset!"

Kiara looked between Tiifu and Zuri and sighed frustrated. She figured they'd both ask her about what happened, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it.

"I'm fine." Kiara mumbled. "And I'm not entirely sure what happened, I just met a cub nearby the Outlands, Kovu, and we were starting to get along when his mom and my dad suddenly appeared. I could tell they've met before, but they didn't get along."

Tiifu and Zuri looked curiously at each other.

"What do you mean?"

"Kovu's mom did something, I'm not entirely sure what, but whatever it was daddy banished her to the Outlands because of it." Kiara frowned at the memory. "Something about her was really scary."

"That's really weird." Tiifu pondered under her breath.

"It sounds like grownups stuff, that would explain why Simba seemed so angry."

"I guess so." Kiara agreed with a nod. "But, I still want to see Kovu. At least one more time."

Both Tiifu and Zuri gawked surprised at Kiara.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Just yesterday Simba said to stay away from the Outlands!"

"I know I know!" Kiara cried annoyed. "But if I'm not going to see Kovu again I should at least be allowed to say goodbye to him!"

"Whatever you're thinking it's a bad idea Kiara." Zuri warned her worriedly.

Kiara frowned in thought. She knew they were right but she wouldn't give up that easily, at least not without trying.

"Good morning ladies."

Tiifu, Zuri and Kiara flinched in surprise when they heard Simba's voice behind them. Tiifu and Zuri greeted Simba with nervous smiles, but Kiara avoided his gaze knowing fully well he was looking for her.

"Kiara, I need to talk to you for a second."

When Simba looked expectantly at Tiifu and Zuri the two young lionesses excused themselves and left him and Kiara alone. Simba didn't seem angry, but Kiara was ready for the worst nonetheless.

"Your mother and I talked last night." Simba began. "And we've decided you can still leave Pride Rock, but you can't go too far away, you need to always be with someone, and you have tell either me or your mother where you're going to be."

If there was an escape maneuver Kiara was planning to go see Kovu one more time Simba had just completely foiled it. To be honest he was being more flexible than Kiara imagined considering what happened, but nevertheless she'd still have to think of another way to carry out her plan.

Simba's eyes softened when he noticed Kiara was avoiding his gaze.

"If you don't abide by these rules I'm afraid I'll have to resort to more drastic measures. You understand?"

Kiara nodded quietly, quickly meeting his eyes as she did so.

It was to be expected Kiara wouldn't be too happy about it, but Simba could only smile and hope she'd understand.

"Be good okay?" Simba whispered as he leaned down and nuzzled her briefly.

Kiara watched with a guilty frown as Simba walked away from her. Simba only wanted her to be safe, but she still needed to see Kovu one more time. If she could say her goodbyes successfully Kiara would follow her father's rules with no problem, but until then she'd carry that feeling of guilt at the bottom of her belly.

If she wouldn't be able to leave her parents' watchful eyes throughout the day, the only viable solution was to sneak out in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep.

The day seemed to go by faster than Kiara would have liked as she slowly realized the dangers and risks her planned involved. Suddenly the idea of leaving the safety of her home to wander the savannah in the middle of the night where there could be predators looking for dinner didn't sound so good. But despite the odds not being in her favor Kiara was still determined to properly say goodbye to Kovu.

The moment the sun set Nala went after Kiara and brought her back to Pride Rock. Considering that was the first day of the new regime Simba and Nala had established for her Kiara didn't say a word when Nala carried her all the way by the scruff.

Simba was still nowhere in sight, but usually he was the last to come in, so Kiara just made herself comfortable next to Nala hoping her father wouldn't pick to lie down by her other side. By the time Nala had fallen asleep Kiara noticed Simba finally stepping in and cursed inwardly when he lied down by Kiara's other side, keeping her trapped between both her parents.

Any other day Kiara would have been happy to sleep by Simba's soft mane, but that night in particular it only made things more complicated. Keeping her eyes closed to not rise any suspicion Kiara waited for Simba to fall asleep, and only when she was sure his breathing was slow and steady did she open her eyes.

Thankfully neither Simba or Nala had their paws close to her, so Kiara only focused in carefully wiggling out from between them without waking either up. When she finally jumped out to freedom Kiara peeked behind her to make sure they were both still asleep, and sighed relieved at seeing they hadn't budged an inch. Avoiding the other sleeping lionesses Kiara ran outside with a determined smile on her face.

Being the light sleeper that she was the subtle patting of paws against rock woke Nala up. She opened her eyes to barely catch a glimpse of a small tail exiting the den, and was able to put two and two together at seeing Kiara was gone.

Frowning preoccupied Nala stood up and decided to save Simba any more worries by letting him sleep. Whatever Kiara was planning to do it couldn't be good.

Going the same way Kiara had ran off to Nala saw not so far ahead her daughter climbing down Pride Rock and going on a straight line deeper into the savannah. Curiosity got the best of her, so instead of directly stopping Kiara Nala decided to follow her closely behind.

As Kiara kept going she was pleasantly surprised at not encountering anyone. In the distance she only saw a couple of Aardwolves that looked confused in her direction and at times the sound of the breeze against leaves took her by surprise, but travelling in the tall grass made her feel somewhat safer.

However when Kiara got closer and closer to the cliff with the crocodile lake at the bottom her heartbeat began to race. She wouldn't be able to cross it again on her own to go look for Kovu, and there was no telling if he would come out here too, so all Kiara could do was hope that by some chance Kovu would appear. The stakes weren't clearly in her favor, but it was still worth a shot.

Stopping right at the edge of the cliff Kiara sat down and stared deeply into the darkness on the other side. She couldn't see anything. If there was indeed someone over there she couldn't tell.

"Kovu?"

There was no response.

A few yards behind Nala watched hidden in the grass how Kiara kept calling for the young cub, not entirely sure what her daughter planned to do if he did show up.

"Kovu are you there?" Kiara called once again.

There was the sound of grass ruffling coming from the other side, and Kiara's ears perked up in excitement.

"Kiara?"

"Kovu!"

Kovu's form appeared from the darkness and the cub sat down by the edge of the cliff to greet Kiara with a shy smile.

"I can't believe you came all the way out here too."

"Of course I did! I just had to see you again."

The happiness was short lived when Kiara remembered the reason as to why she had come out all the way there in the first place.

"I wanted to see you again to say goodbye." Kiara said, her ears falling down the side of her head as she frowned. "My parents don't want me to leave home ever again."

The sadness in Kiara's voice caused Kovu to frown empathetic.

"I wanted to say goodbye too. My mom, she…" Kovu looked away from Kiara, almost with guilt. "She won't let me leave for a while either."

"Oh…"

There was silence between the cubs as they didn't know what else to say. What are you supposed to say when you're seeing someone for the last time?

Trying to at least end it on a positive note and be as brief as possible Kiara did her best to muster a smile.

"Well, no matter what my father says, I'm still glad I got to meet you Kovu."

Kovu's eyes softened and he couldn't help smiling back.

"I'm glad I got to meet you too Kiara."

As short as their friendship had lasted Kiara felt like she was losing something important and very dear to her. She loved both Tiifu and Zuri to bits, but when she met Kovu she had found something in him that had been missing in her life. If it were up to her she'd do anything to see Kovu every single day, but everything and everyone was against it.

Their gazes lingered on each other for a few more moments before Kovu finally stood up and began to turn back around where he came from.

Kovu looked back at Kiara one more time with a sad smile. "Goodbye."

Kiara sighed, watching as his small figure disappeared in the shadows.

"Bye."

Until Kovu was no longer visible Kiara finally stood up and turned around to head back home, her tail dragging sadly between her back legs.

"Kiara you know it's dangerous to come out here on your own. What were you thinking?"

Kiara froze on her tracks when from the darkness Nala's figure appeared in front of her. For how long had she been there?

"M-Mom I…"

"Did you seriously think it was a good idea to go out in the middle of the night on your own? What if Zira had followed Kovu too?" Nala scolded her. If something had happened Nala would have jumped out without a second thought, but if she hadn't been there and something _did_ happen there was no telling if Kiara would have been okay.

"I wasn't going to the Outlands! I just wanted to say goodbye to Kovu!" Kiara cried trying to explain herself, but sighed in defeat at Nala's unfaltering gaze and looked down at the ground. "I was going to come back before you woke up."

Though Nala was still mortified by Kiara's actions she was able to sympathize with her daughter. Her intentions were good, even with the bad circumstances.

"I'm sorry." Kiara murmured timidly.

Nala sighed and leaned down to nuzzle Kiara.

"It's okay. What matters is that you're safe." Nala waited for Kiara to open her eyes so their gazes could meet. "But we better not tell anything about this to your father."

Kiara nodded in agreement.

"He'd be really angry wouldn't he?" Kiara asked as the two began to walk back to Pride Rock.

Nala looked ahead where their home could be seen in the distance.

"Not angry, but scared."

Kiara looked up curiously at her mother.

"Scared?"

Nala stared down at Kiara to see genuine curiosity in her eyes. It wasn't so hard to guess that a cub wouldn't realize their parents feel scared too from time to time.

"Kiara why do you think your father made those new rules yesterday? About not getting close to the Outlands and you not going so far away from Pride Rock."

Kiara hummed briefly in thought.

"Because he doesn't want anyone to see Zira again?"

"In a way yes, but mainly he did it so you're not in danger. Your father and I love you and all we want is that you are safe. You knew that didn't you?"

Kiara recalled how Simba had said almost the exact same thing after their encounter with Zira.

"Yeah, I did."

"And not just us, everyone else in the pride loves you. Your friends, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu and everyone else cares about you. And one day we will all need you to be queen of the Pridelands. You're the only one who can do it Kiara, that's why you have to be more careful from now on."

'Everyone?' Kiara wondered inwardly.

Kiara stopped paying attention to where they were going long back ago and didn't realize they had already arrived to Pride Rock. Nala didn't add anything else as she returned to Simba's side and urged Kiara to join her as well with a nudge of her head.

Still deep in thought Kiara returned to lie down between her parents and cuddled against Simba's mane.

'Everyone is expecting a lot of me, aren't they?'

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter came out rather short but I hope you enjoy reading it!**

* * *

Kiara woke up to her mother's words still ringing inside her mind.

' _One day we will all need you to be queen of the Pridelands. You're the only one who can do it Kiara'._

This wasn't news to her. Kiara had been completely aware for a long time that she was eventually going to be queen, but for whatever reason after everything that had been happening suddenly the weight of the implication became apparent. When she had gone to sleep her thoughts were nothing but the newly found concern of her role, and the instant her mind returned to consciousness it was back to the same thing again.

Why pick someone for future queen when you're not even sure they'll do a good job? Kiara had already voiced her thoughts to Simba, admitting she didn't even want to be queen in the first place, but her father only reminded her that she had no choice, that being queen was already a part of her.

Kiara sighed preoccupied as she looked outside. Just not so long ago Timon and Pumbaa had asked her who was the half of her that wasn't a princess. Back then Kiara couldn't answer, and if someone were to ask her again in that moment she still wouldn't know what to say. If the half she was supposed to know was still a mystery then the other half that was a princess was a complete stranger.

Did Simba ever feel this way? Could her grandfather have felt it too? Or could it be she was the first one to ever feel so lost?

Kiara stood up to find she was the last one to wake up. Simba was nowhere to be seen and Nala and the other lionesses had already left for the morning hunt. She really needed to talk to someone, but with both her parents currently away Kiara had only a few limited options.

Against her better judgement Kiara went looking for Timon and Pumbaa, and luckily for her they were nearby scavenging for bugs like they usually did. If there was someone that knew Simba better than Simba or Nala it was these two.

"Simba's childhood?" Timon arched an eyebrow as he chewed.

"You came to the right place!" Pumbaa chimed happily. "We did raise your dad after all. What is it you want to know exactly?"

Kiara smiled uncomfortable, still not used to the deafening sound of bugs crunching as Timon and Pumbaa ate, but she was doing her best to bear with it.

"Did my dad ever say anything about the whole king thing? Maybe what his thoughts were?"

As far as she knew Simba trusted Timon and Pumbaa deeply, so it wouldn't be a surprise if at one point during his childhood he confessed all of his contained troubled feelings.

Timon hummed in thought, licking his fingers.

"Well to be honest we had no idea he was supposed to be king until Nala found him." Timon frowned annoyed, remembering the initial shock of the reveal. "He never mentioned it."

"When we first met Simba he was really upset, mostly when we asked him where he had come from and what happened. Since he didn't want to say anything back then we never pressured the issue again." Pumbaa said as he recalled the day they first met him.

Timon crossed his arms and sighed, sitting back against Pumbaa.

"In retrospective I guess I get why he didn't want to say anything." Timon said rubbing the back of his head. "So it only makes me feel better now to know Hakuna Matata was able to lift his spirits again."

"We didn't know about Scar either." Pumbaa added. "Nothing about Simba's family really. Until Nala found Simba and we all went to fight Scar did we actually get to listen to the whole story."

Kiara looked down at the ground in thought.

"Right, Scar…"

Scar, now there was a king that wasn't fit to be king. Kiara didn't know the whole story, but from what she had heard Scar was a terrible king that brought ruin to the Pridelands. Who was to say she wouldn't do the same? Maybe not on purpose but by accident? There was no way to know she was capable enough of being queen, what if her choices in the future weren't the best for the Pridelands either?

And now that she thought about it Kiara remembered Zira mentioning Scar a couple of times. How could a king like him even have followers? Could that be related as to why Simba didn't want her in the Pridelands?

"I'm not sure that was what you wanted to hear." Pumbaa interrupted Kiara's thoughts. "But I hope we were of some help."

Kiara smiled politely at them both.

"Yeah, you were. Thank you."

"Kiara! Kiara!"

Kiara turned around at the sound of her friends calling for her excitedly.

"There you are." Tiifu panted as they reached Kiara.

"We found this great spot for sunbathing, you have to come check it out." Zuri breathed excitedly at the thought.

Kiara smiled at them both. The idea of relaxing under the sun actually sounded really appealing.

"Let's go then."

Though for the rest of the afternoon her friends and the warm sunlight on her skin were just what Kiara needed to keep her mind distracted from her worries, it only lasted for so long. As soon as the sun set and her friends bid her goodnight reality sunk in once more. However, instead of worrying over her royal duties Kiara was currently more curious over what Scar's reign had exactly been like.

Approaching both Simba and Nala as they made their way back to Pride Rock Kiara waited for them both to stop talking before saying anything.

"Daddy?"

"What is it princess?" Simba smiled down at her.

Kiara seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if carefully articulating her following sentence.

"Why was Scar so bad?"

Simba and Nala immediately stopped walking and shared surprised glances. They hadn't fully explained Scar's story to Kiara yet considering she was still young, so they figured it was best to wait for the day she'd ask them herself, but they weren't expecting it'd be so soon.

Nala nodded knowingly to Simba. "Go ahead." She murmured before walking past them to Pride Rock.

Simba leaned down and softly nudged Kiara to turn the other way Nala had gone.

"Why don't we go take a walk Kiara?"

Kiara agreed quietly and followed Simba to aimlessly walk around.

As they distanced themselves from Pride Rock Simba took a moment to settle his thoughts. Though looking back on his memories wasn't as painful anymore it was still a touchy subject for him, mostly because Scar's story as king involved retelling Mufasa's death. Trying to not seem too upset Simba took a deep breath before finally speaking.

"Before I start saying anything Kiara there's one thing I need you to understand." Simba gazed down at Kiara's curious eyes. "Scar didn't care for anyone. All he wanted was power, no matter the means to obtain it."

When Kiara didn't seem to want to ask anything Simba continued.

"Even before being king he did terrible things. He killed your grandfather Mufasa, tried to kill me too and lied to everyone in the pride." Simba looked up at the stars in melancholy. "I was about your age when your grandfather died. I was scared and ran away. So with me gone Scar took the throne and became king, and when he did he brought the hyenas into the Pridelands."

"But I thought the hyenas didn't care about the Circle of Life. Why bring them in?" Kiara asked confused.

"Because Scar didn't care about it either, he just wanted to be king. The hyenas were his allies, so he brought them with him. But when he did the balance in the Circle of Life was broken, and the Pridelands fell apart."

Simba looked at the greenery that had grown back around him.

"Vegetation slowly died, water became scarce and herds began to leave. Everything was falling apart, and your mother and the other lionesses had no choice but to follow Scar."

"For how long?" Kiara murmured, almost scared to know the answer.

"Years."

Kiara widened her eyes. Had her mother grown up under Scar's rule? What must have that even been like?

As she slowly kept repeating Simba's words in her mind did Kiara suddenly understood the gravity of Scar's actions. Kiara felt a cold shiver run down her entire body when it finally hit her. Scar had killed his own brother. Scar had wanted to kill his own nephew when he was nothing but a cub. Simba had also said he was about her age when it happened, and Kiara couldn't even fathom how horrifying that experience must have been.

Simba smiled comfortingly at Kiara upon noticing her mortified expression.

"But then Nala found me and told me everything. I wasn't sure what to do at first, but with Nala, Timon and Pumbaa's help I decided to fight back and recover the Pridelands."

Kiara let out a quiet breath, visibly relieved. Though she already knew there was a happy ending to that story it was still reassuring to hear it directly from Simba.

At least now Kiara was sure that there was no way she'd be as bad ruling the Pridelands as Scar was.

"It wasn't easy, and it took some time, but in the end we managed to recover the equilibrium of the Circle of Life and the Pridelands returned to normal, the way you are seeing it now."

Kiara took in her surroundings. Despite everything looking beautiful and at peace it was hard to believe it was all in ruins a little before she was born. And though Simba's story was enlightening the more she thought about it Kiara couldn't seem to understand one detail.

"Even though Scar did all those terrible things… why did Zira follow him?"

Simba stopped walking and sat down on the grass and sighed preoccupied.

"I don't know. But what I do know is that whoever follows Scar mustn't be trusted, and they'll never be welcome in the Pridelands."

Kiara sat down next to Simba, lightly bowing her head as she nodded in agreement. From what she had been told it was understandable that anyone who was on Scar's side couldn't be good, but did that also mean Kovu wasn't to be trusted? Could he hold the same beliefs Scar and Zira did? Kiara wanted to believe he was the exception. She knew Kovu was a good friend.

* * *

 **That's one thing off Kiara's mind but it sure wasn't the last!**

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews are immensely appreciated ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**This was really fun to write, definitely one of my fav chapters. Please enjoy!**

* * *

For a moment everything in his vision was a blur. Simba ran blindly trying to clear the haze in his eyes, but when the loud clash of thunder behind him resounded, its light came and gave Simba a brief moment of visibility, and it was enough so he could finally distinguish several figures ahead of him.

As he approached them everything became clearer. The raindrops stung his body like cold darts and his wet mane stuck to the side of his face, but nothing was enough to slow him down.

Simba gasped mortified as he realized the figures were unconscious lionesses from his pride, all hurt and defeated at the base of Pride Rock. He searched frantically for Nala, dreading the worse, but clinging onto the hope that she was still alright.

Several ideas and scenarios ran through his mind as Simba tried to imagine what could have possibly left his pride so injured. There was no mistake there had been an attack and fierce battles had ensued, but at the top of his mind there was no one that would go so far to cause this damage, and for what purpose?

Simba felt his heart skip a beat when he finally spotted the unmistakable form of Nala lying motionless on the ground. He hurried to her side and gasped horrified at the state he found her in.

"Nala!"

Large spots of blood had stained her usual light fur, bite marks and fresh scratches were all over her body, but most noticeable of all was the deep scratch that covered half of her face.

Upon hearing Simba's voice Nala's eyes struggled to open, and though it relieved him to see she was still conscious the fact that she didn't have the strength to move was terribly concerning.

"Nala what happened to you?" Simba stuttered as he leaned down to nuzzle her and lick her wound.

Nala breathed heavily and groaned in pain when her body ached as she tried to stand up.

"S-Sim…"

"Don't move you're injured! We need to get you to Rafiki as quickly as possible."

Nala was able to shake her head, earning Simba's attention.

Unable to say anything Nala looked up worriedly towards Pride Rock and Simba followed her gaze.

Standing at the top of Pride Rock was Zira, laughing wholeheartedly with Kovu by her side and holding Kiara hostage beneath her paw.

"Kiara!" Simba cried in horror.

Kiara tried to squirm away from Zira's hold but the lioness pressed down harder on her, amused by the cub's useless struggle. Noticing Simba down below Zira grinned triumphant.

"You're too late Simba!" Zira mocked with a devious smirk. "The Pridelands will finally have their rightful king!"

Zira finally let go of Kiara, but before the cub could run for it Zira leaned down to capture her by the scruff and lifted her so Simba could see her clearly.

"Daddy!" Kiara cried in terror.

Simba felt his body burn with anger.

"You let my daughter go!" Simba growled baring his fangs threateningly.

Driven by rage Simba ran to climb Pride Rock as quickly as his legs could take him, all the while having his eyes fixed on Kiara.

Zira's smile widened as she slowly approached the edge of Pride Rock, holding Kiara right above it.

Simba widened his eyes in horror as he realized what Zira was planning to do.

"No!"

The world around him suddenly shattered as Simba watched horrified how Kiara cried and fell to her death.

* * *

With a quiet gasp Simba was brought back to reality. He looked around him anxiously still disoriented, but when he finally realized it had been a bad dream and he saw Kiara sleeping soundly against Nala Simba sighed relieved. He looked at them both for a moment to let the adrenaline and the scare slowly vanish.

This wasn't the first time Simba had a nightmare, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last either, but this was the first time it had been about Zira. Usually his nightmares with Scar would shock him awake and it didn't take him long to fall back asleep, but the genuine terror that had invaded him wasn't something Simba would be able to shake off that easily.

Carefully standing up to not wake anyone up Simba made his way outside. He needed some fresh air.

Simba refrained from getting even close to that same edge of Pride Rock that he had seen in his nightmare, so instead he sat down right outside the den to have a quiet moment by himself.

It had been only a few days since his encounter with Zira, and though things seemed quiet in the Outlands there had been a growing fear inside him that Simba hadn't been able to shake off. There was no mistake that Zira had her eyes on Kiara.

The thought brought shivers down his spine. He had fought Zira before and defeated her easily, he was also confident that if it came to it Nala would be just as capable to fight, but the idea of Kiara getting involved was frightening. No matter how he thought around it every scenario was bad; she could get kidnapped, used as hostage, tortured or even killed.

Simba shook his head anxiously to keep those thoughts away. Right now Kiara was safe, he had made sure to keep her as away from the Outlands as possible, and he was certain that if any outlander tried to enter the Pridelands they wouldn't be able to get so far. So why was he still so scared?

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Simba suddenly jolted out of his thoughts to see Nala sitting beside him. He hadn't even noticed when she arrived.

Though some time in the past Simba would have lied to hide his insecurities he eventually learned there was no point in doing so, Nala was very good at reading him and she only wanted to help.

Turning to look at Nala Simba's gaze lingered on her as he contemplated her face devoid of scratches. The images of his dream had been awfully vivid, and though it hadn't been real Simba was still grateful to see she was doing alright.

"Yeah." Simba nodded solemnly.

"I don't remember the last time you came outside after having a nightmare." Nala mused intrigued. "Was it that bad?"

Simba shook his head. "It wasn't about father or Scar. It was about Zira."

Nala frowned confused. "Zira?"

"I just can't stop thinking about it." Simba sighed exasperated. "The thought of what Zira might be planning to do to Kiara won't leave my mind. It's driving me nuts."

Simba was ready to let his pent-up feelings outburst in a rush just so they could finally leave his chest, but when he met Nala's empathetic gaze he refrained from doing so. They stared at each other quietly, thinking the exact same thing.

"I don't want to lose her. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

Nala softened her eyes, scooting closer to Simba and settling her head against his mane.

"Aren't you scared too?" Simba added.

Nala nodded.

"Of course I am." She murmured. "But you need to stop thinking about it all the time. It won't do you any good."

Simba scoffed ironically. "Easier said than done."

"Please Simba…" Nala insisted concerned. "You can't keep going on like this. Even if something is going to happen there is no point in worrying about it now, we'll face it when the time comes."

For a moment Simba was terribly close to berating Nala. How could she suggest not worrying about it at all? Was he supposed to pretend nothing happened and wait for the inevitable to eventually come one day? However as he let the idea settle in Simba allowed himself to breathe and think it over.

Now that he gave it more thought it didn't sound that appealing to live with constant fear and paranoia expecting the worse. What if every night he jerked awake with nightmares? That period of his life had ended a long time ago, he didn't want to go through it all over again.

Just because Nala wasn't worrying like he was it didn't mean she didn't care.

Simba looked down to meet Nala's gaze. Behind that worried frown over him her eyes glistened with the faintest glimpse of fear.

She cared immensely.

Simba grimaced, still at a loss. "I'm not sure I could do it even if I wanted to."

Dong his best to clear his mind from his rampaging thoughts and the still lingering images of his dream Simba looked up at the night sky, almost hoping that maybe Mufasa would somehow appear before him and reassure him everything was going to turn out alright.

Nala stared at Simba's face closely as she pondered on what to do. The only way to make Simba stop thinking about it was to somehow change his focus into something else, something more important.

Nala grinned to herself as she suddenly thought of the perfect solution. She had been intending in telling Simba a bit later on, but perhaps this really was the best time to do it.

"Simba."

Snapping out of his own thoughts Simba turned to Nala to let her know he was paying her attention, his eyes looking visibly tired from both the lack of sleep and from the constant internal struggle.

"I'm pregnant."

Simba's eyes widened in surprise and he shook his head from side to side thinking perhaps his ears were deceiving him. Maybe the lack of peace within himself was finally affecting him.

"W-What?"

"I'm pregnant." Nala repeated with an amused grin.

If anyone knew that Nala went always straight to the point it was Simba, but this, this was too sudden and it came out of nowhere.

Nala remembered Simba's reaction when she told him she was pregnant with Kiara. He immediately started beaming with happiness, and adding that with the good recovery the Pridelands was going through at the time Simba remained in a very good mood for weeks. Sure he had times when he wasn't sure he'd be a good father, but his doubts were short lived with Nala's constant reassurance.

However in that moment Simba's reaction never came, he seemed to be too in shock to say anything. Nala waited patiently for Simba to break from his quiet stupor to the point she was awfully close to burst out laughing.

"Simba?" Nala chuckled.

Upon hearing his name everything seemed to finally make sense. A wide toothy grin slowly formed on Simba's face and out of glee jumped forward pushing Nala on the ground to nuzzle her affectionately.

"Took you long enough." Nala laughed against his mane.

"Nala that's- that's great!" Simba exclaimed happily.

Simba abruptly stopped nuzzling Nala and suddenly scowled in realization, still towering over her.

"You're not joining the hunts anymore." Simba added with sudden serious tone.

"I'm not that far in you know." Nala pointed out, hoping it would change his mind.

Simba's scowl turned into an insistent pout.

Nala decided there was no point in arguing and just rolled her eyes in defeat, expecting as much from him. "Fine, fine." She conceded.

Simba's smile returned to his face and he softly pressed his forehead against Nala's, purring contently.

"Should we tell Kiara?" Simba mumbled lazily, too comfortable right where he was.

"It's a bit too early, we should probably wait a little more."

Simba finally pulled away to smile at Nala, his eyes sparkling lovingly with the light of the moon. She returned the gesture, happy to see him back to his usual cheerful self.

"I love you."

Nala's eyes softened.

"I love you too."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews are immensely appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Starting with a small time skip on this one. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Like any other year the raining season had come over the Pridelands. Just as Simba remembered it the sky would be clouded completely for a couple of weeks and rain would pour down incessantly. As a cub he used to enjoy going out getting wet and playing in the mud, but as of right now Simba wasn't having fun in the least and just prayed it'd end soon.

Considering this was his first raining season as king Simba had learned a lot of things the hard way. Having tasted for a little while how good power felt the hyenas took advantage of the chaotic rainstorms, and in the hopes of going by unnoticed tried to sneak into the Pridelands to get something to eat. Zazu keeping watch of the hyenas' activity was really helpful, but Simba was slowly getting tired of chasing hyenas away several times a day.

As tired as he was though he was at least thankful that running around often helped keep his mind off Zira. Ever since Nala announced the coming of their second cub Simba had finally been at ease for some time, but when the hyenas started doing mischief Simba went to almost days without thinking about Zira once. It was a relief to be sure, but he could use a break.

Hurrying to step inside Pride Rock's den Simba sighed relieved and shook the water off him as much as he could, his mane slightly puffing up in the process. That day in particular had been really tiring, and Simba was ready to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

Catching his eyesight almost instantly Simba smiled at seeing Nala cleaning Kiara, the cub pouting annoyed at being held hostage between her mother's paws.

"Hey you two." Simba greeted tiredly, interrupting Kiara's bath to nuzzle Nala lovingly.

"Hi daddy!"

Kiara took the moment Nala was distracted to wiggle out of her mother's grasp and ran to rub her body against Simba's paws. By that point Simba's mane would already be covering Kiara's head as he greeted back, but when it never came Kiara looked up with a pout to see what was keeping her father so distracted.

"Long day?" Nala asked with an empathetic smile.

"You know it." Simba chuckled, letting Nala settle beneath his muzzle. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing just fine."

From beneath Simba Kiara scowled confused. She knew Simba wasn't afraid of showing his feelings for both her and Nala, and though she was aware his love for Nala was different from hers he seemed a little more affectionate than usual towards her mother.

Pulling away from Nala Simba let himself fall on the ground with a huff, sighing contently upon finally being able to relax.

"Daddy!" Kiara whined annoyed and climbed on Simba's back to get his attention.

"Hey princess." Simba yawned.

Kiara kept climbing up Simba's mane until she was able to lie down atop his head.

"I didn't see you at all today." Kiara mumbled disappointed.

Simba looked up at Kiara and smiled apologetically "I know, sorry about that. It's just that I was very busy today."

Kiara frowned.

"Chasing hyenas again? I could have gone with you…"

Simba chuckled. Back when he was a cub he would have loved to go chase hyenas with his father; there had even been several times he tried to tag along but was always sent back home with Zazu. Looking back Simba could relate to Kiara, but now he could relate the most to Mufasa.

"It's too dangerous for you Kiara." Simba explained amicably.

Simba yawned again and Nala softly nudged Kiara to climb off him.

"Come on Kiara, your father wants to go to sleep."

Sighing in defeat Kiara did as she was told and curled up by Simba's other side.

This wasn't the first time Kiara hadn't seen Simba throughout the day. For several days she had been meaning to talk with him, because even though her questions over Scar had been resolved the moment they did Kiara was once again overcome with that cold feeling of dread and self-doubt.

Even though Kiara did her best to wake up early Simba was always already gone, and she wouldn't see him until night came and he was at the verge of succumbing to sleep. It was as if something out there didn't want her to talk with Simba, and the more time passed the more Kiara's insecurities slowly grew. Kiara wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle it much longer, and she didn't want to know either what would happen when her limit was crossed.

Lying down his head next to Nala´s Simba breathed drowsily.

"Having a Lion Guard would be pretty good right about now…" Simba mumbled under his breath, causing Nala to chuckle sympathetically.

"Perhaps the Pridelands will see a new Lion Guard not so long in the future." Nala mused happily.

Simba turned his eyes to meet Nala's knowingly, a smile forming on his face before he finally let his eyelids fall.

Too distracted in her own thoughts Kiara barely listened to what her parents were talking about, but when Simba's breathing next to her turned slow and steady Kiara let herself be lulled to sleep by its gentle rhythm.

* * *

The moment the first rays of sun were visible through the thick group of clouds Kiara jerked awake. Her mind yelled at her to catch Simba before he left, but when she stood up she noticed he was already gone. How could Simba leave so early?

Kiara sighed defeated. It was going to be the same thing all over again, if she was lucky she'd see Simba running somewhere in the distance or get to briefly greet him when he returned late at night. Was it really too much to ask to have a conversation with her father?

Looking outside the den Kiara saw Nala sitting at the edge of Pride Rock, overseeing some lionesses getting ready to go hunting. Kiara would have preferred to talk with Simba, but perhaps her mother could be of some help as well, after all she _was_ the queen. There was a chance Nala knew what Kiara was feeling.

Stepping outside Kiara walked towards Nala to sit down by her side. The sky was cloudy just as yesterday, and from where they were sitting they could see very far in the distance thunder falling down. Kiara inwardly hoped Simba hadn't gone in that direction.

"Good morning Kiara."

Kiara did her best to muster a convincing smile. "Good morning."

Not entirely sure how to suddenly bring up the subject Kiara remained quiet as she thought. Should she ask first if being queen was difficult? Or maybe ask what Nala felt when she was named queen? Or perhaps just be straightforward and share her thoughts?

Kiara glanced down at the savannah frantically as she kept pondering what her best option was, however upon spotting the lionesses leaving Pride Rock to go hunt Kiara's thoughts drastically changed direction.

"Say mom, you've stopped going to the hunts for a while now. Why's that?"

Nala discreetly glanced down at her growing belly with a smile. As of late it had slowly been showing more, and she was surprised Kiara hadn't asked her anything about it, but maybe she hadn't even noticed.

"Your father asked me to stop hunting."

Kiara frowned confused.

"What? Why?"

Nala chuckled at Kiara's genuine confusion.

"Because I'm having a cub soon."

Kiara's expression went from incredulous to surprised in an instant. Exactly like Simba Kiara remained in shock for a few seconds, as if analyzing all the implications.

"You're going to be a big sister Kiara." Nala added softly.

Until Nala said it directly Kiara gasped with a smile of realization. The gears in her mind turned and Kiara directed her gaze to Nala's belly, berating herself for not noticing before that it had been slowly getting bigger. How did that even escape her?

"Are you serious?" Kiara asked with a hopeful smile.

"Of course I am." Nala chuckled. "I wouldn't lie about something like that."

Kiara felt her chest fill with excitement. She was going to have a sibling, that was like meeting a brand new friend and growing with them the rest of your life! Someone she could hang out and play with whenever Tiifu and Zuri weren't in the mood, because honestly speaking those two had their lazy days from time to time.

Not only could she play and hang out with her sibling, but Kiara could teach a lot of things to them. She could guide her sibling in experiencing all sorts of things for the first time, and if the day was over and they still had energy for more they could just keep talking before going to sleep, though ultimately stopping when either Simba or Nala told them to.

"That's great!" Kiara beamed happily.

'I'm going to be a big sister!'

Kiara kept repeating the thought over and over excitedly, but as it kept whirling in her mind it suddenly settled down as it struck her.

"I'm… I'm going to be a big sister." Kiara mumbled to herself, the previous smile on her face slowly vanishing.

Could she be a good older sister?

As much as she didn't want to the thought began nagging at her. Why was she suddenly struck with concern? She was supposed to be happy. Her family was going to grow bigger, that was great news! So why then? Why did doubt consume her so suddenly? On its own it was already bad enough, but her insecurity joined her fears of becoming queen to weigh down even worse on her chest.

Nala watched curiously as Kiara's excitement visibly faded. It was easy to see there was something in her mind bothering her, but before she could ask about it Kiara went ahead and spoke up first.

"Mom…" Kiara turned to look at Nala with a worried frown. "Do you think I'm going to be a good queen?"

The sudden change of subject and the genuine concern in Kiara's eyes caused Nala to frown preoccupied.

"Of course I do Kiara, why would you think otherwise?"

"It's just… what if I'm not good enough?" Kiara's voice turned slightly higher, highlighting her desperation. "Didn't you and dad ever think of that? What if I don't make the right choices? There's no way to know I'm going to be a good queen! I could harm the Pridelands just like Scar did!"

Nala scooted closer to Kiara and leaned down to be at her eye level. She let Kiara regain her breath from her brief outburst, speaking up until she was sure Kiara was paying her attention.

"Kiara, you're going to be a good queen. Your father and I have never doubted it for a second, and do you want to know why?"

Kiara nodded shyly, her head and ears slightly lowered.

"Because you are our daughter, and we believe in you." Nala smiled reassuringly. "We know you, and we know you're going to be a great queen. There's no one else in the world with whom we'd trust the Pridelands to other than you."

"…Really?"

Nala got closer to nuzzle Kiara with a loving smile.

"Really."

Licking her face affectionally Nala nudged softly Kiara's head to make her look upwards.

"So cheer up okay? Trust me, you're going to do just fine."

Kiara mustered a smile as she nodded.

"Thanks mom." Stepping back embarrassed Kiara cleared her throat, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm-I'm going with Tiifu and Zuri." She chuckled nervously.

Kiara turned around and walked in Nala's opposite direction, climbing down from Pride Rock.

"Be careful."

Kiara heard Nala call amicably, but she ignored it, or at least didn't bother to let Nala know she had heard her. Kiara kept walking until she was sure she was far away enough from Nala, and finding the nearest tree to sit beneath its shade Kiara finally let the fake smile of relief turn into a frown.

Though she appreciated her mother's efforts that didn't exactly make her feel any better. If anything that talk only let Kiara know both her parents had high expectations of her, and the added pressure wasn't of any help.

Kiara didn't think it was possible, but she felt worse than she did when she woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you yingyangmaster and Gracekim1 for all your support, you're the best! Enjoy the chapter~**

* * *

The clouded sky seemed to only contribute to Kiara's somber mood. She had done her best to find reassurance and finally let all those concerns and doubts leave her, but it all seemed to make things worse.

There had to be someone. Someone out there surely could understand Kiara's feelings and truly bring her concerns to rest, and at this point of desperation Kiara was going to search through everyone. Anyone would do, as long as she was validated and taken seriously.

Just as she had told her mother Kiara intended to join Tiifu and Zuri, but both cubs were nowhere to be found. Whenever it came to this if they were nowhere nearby Kiara knew exactly where they had gone to, but she was hoping she was wrong about it.

Walking towards the waterhole Kiara looked up at the sky worriedly. The clouds were slowly growing thicker, and though she knew Simba was strong enough to fend off anything, she couldn't help feel just a little bit worried for him. He was king, but he wasn't invincible either.

Because of the unfriendly weather the waterhole was more empty than usual, except for a pair of lion cubs that were lazily napping between some bushes to remain concealed. Kiara sighed. It was one of those days.

"Tiifu, Zuri."

The bushes rustled as both friends turned over to look at Kiara, but refraining from standing up.

"Oh hey Kiara." Tiifu yawned.

"Why don't you come nap with us?" Zuri invited. "This spot is really nice."

Though Kiara wasn't one to say no to naps she personally preferred it when the sun was shining down on her. That day's weather was the complete opposite to her tastes, but when Tiifu and Zuri were having a 'I don't feel like doing anything right now' day they could fall asleep practically anywhere. The waterhole just happened to be their favorite spot for doing so.

"It's going to rain soon, I don't even know how you guys could sleep with this weather. It's not nice at all."

"That's exactly the problem." Tiifu pouted.

"With this weather I don't want to do anything at all." Zuri whined. "So I might as well nap."

Kiara rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly. There was no helping these two.

When neither said anything else and closed their eyes again Kiara began considering whether it was actually a good idea to try and talk to them. It's not that they wouldn't show interest in her problem, but perhaps their current mood wouldn't be of good contribution. Then again she was reaching her limit, so it was still worth a shot.

"Say," Tiifu and Zuri opened their eyes again to listen to Kiara. "What do you guys think of me being queen one day? What would you feel if you were in my place?"

Almost immediately a smile formed on both their maws.

"I think it's awesome. You sure are lucky, I wouldn't mind being queen if I were in your place Kiara." Tiifu said.

Kiara's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?"

"Of course!" Zuri sat up, getting visibly excited. "Being queen must be awesome. Everyone does what you tell them to! You can do whatever you want!"

"You can ask anyone anything and they can't say no to you." Tiifu chuckled, exchanging a devious smile with Zuri. "It's like you have power over everyone!"

Kiara's ears fell down by her head in disappointment. She should have expected that answer, but for some reason a part of her was hoping perhaps Tiifu and Zuri would see things the way she did.

"Oh…" Was all Kiara managed to reply. "I see."

Upon her obvious dissapointment Tiifu and Zuri looked at each other with mild concern.

"Why do you ask Kiara?"

Quickly Kiara mustered up a smile, deciding it was best to not involve her friends too much.

"N-No reason." She chuckled nervously. "But yeah you're right, it's gonna be… awesome."

"Right?" Both Tiifu and Zuri beamed.

The two cubs laughed amongst each other amicably, but when their excitement died down they noticed Kiara was already walking away from them. Puzzled by their friend's reaction they looked at each other confused, but in the end decided to lie back down where they were. Surely it couldn't be anything serious.

Not even her friends seemed to understand. Kiara huffed frustrated. But then again, why would they? They weren't in her place, and they couldn't possibly imagine what it's like either. Discarding her mother, the present queen, as the one to help her out was already very discouraging, but to add Kiara's closest friends to the list was just saddening.

Who else could she talk to? Timon and Pumbaa came to mind, but Kiara was quick to shake off that idea. There was no way they were going to take her seriously. They'd probably just tell her to live Hakuna Matata and hope that would solve everything. If only it were that easy.

Already having walked pass by Pride Rock Kiara looked out in the distance. She recognized Rafiki's tree not so far away; he was a little odd, and she personally hadn't interacted with him that much, but he was wise. Rafiki was regarded as a close and dear friend to the royal family, surely there was a good reason for that.

Though timidly at first Kiara slightly sped up when the sky above her roared ominously. It was going to rain soon, and she really wasn't in the mood for another bath.

As she arrived at the base of the tree Kiara craned her neck upwards trying to see if there was anyone up in the branches.

"Hello?"

Kiara stood up on her hind legs and stood against the bark in an attempt to get a better view.

"Rafiki? Are you home?"

There was no response, but who was to say Rafiki wasn't up there immersed in his own world doing who knows what? Because of the lack of branches to hang on to Kiara didn't want to resort to climbing, but decided it was best to just go for it.

"I'm climbing up!" She called, as if warning anyone above to brace for a climbing lion.

With the strongest jump she could muster Kiara hopped and held on to the bark of the tree. Luckily the bark was thick and sturdy, so it would support her just nicely, but considering the long distance ahead her legs would end up aching.

With a sigh of determination Kiara began ascending through the tree, huffing and puffing as she forced her claws to carry the weight of her body against gravity.

"Rafiki!" Kiara panted. "Rafiki are you there? 'Cause I'm coming!"

With one last effort Kiara's legs shook tiredly as she finally reached the top, tumbling over once she had safely landed. She took a moment to recover her breath, keeping a close eye on the clouds above the leaves. It hadn't started raining, but even she could tell there was going to be a massive storm.

Once her breathing had returned to normal Kiara finally took a moment to look around the tree.

"Rafiki?"

There were a lot of strange items like shells and open fruit lying around, mostly with traces of fingers on them. From the top branches hung smaller empty shells that dangled against each other with the wind, all neatly organized. But most noticeable of all were the paintings by the center of the trunk.

Kiara slowly stepped forward towards the paintings, fearing she could disturb anything in her surroundings.

Painted in red were many shapes Kiara could recognize; different animals of the savannah, small shapes resembling birds, and even Rafiki's hands, but what caught Kiara's eyes immediately was the drawing of a lion with a bright red mane.

"Dad?" Kiara whispered, sitting in front of the simple yet accurate portrait.

That red vibrant mane was unmistakable, that was Simba.

However as Kiara kept observing the drawing her eyes caught sight of another similar piece right next to Simba's. It was the same shape as Simba's, though smaller and visibly lacked the fiery red surrounding its neck.

Kiara looked at it intently, not entirely sure how to interpret it. Could it be Nala? No, this drawing clearly depicted it being way smaller than Simba's.

Kiara widened her eyes in sudden realization before frowning.

"Is that me?"

Slowly growing more anxious Kiara looked from one drawing to the other, trying to find another possible correlation between them. The gears in her mind kept spinning, but as much as she wanted to find a satisfying explanation deep inside she knew the real reason.

With an exasperated sigh Kiara bowed down, her ears folding back.

"You can't seriously expect me to be like him." Kiara murmured in defeat. "Why is everyone so confident in me being a good queen? Don't they realize that if I mess up they'll be just more disappointed?"

Kiara shook her head in denial.

"There's no way I'll ever be as good as him. And now… and now I'm going to be a big sister." Kiara chuckled sadly. "What will my sibling think when they see how terrible of a queen I end up being?"

Kiara looked up back at the drawing and sighed in melancholy.

"What will dad think?"

Thunder clashed once again, only this time considerably closer. Kiara turned in the direction it had come from, and her frown slowly turned into an angry scowl.

"Not that I'll ever know because I can't even talk to him!" Kiara growled and began pacing impatiently in circles. "And those that I can talk to just make me feel worse! Why can't no one understand? No one has any idea of how I feel!"

Despite the strong cold winds Kiara felt her body slowly grow hotter with every step she took.

"And maybe dad is just like everyone else…" Kiara huffed. "He will probably just tell me something about the Circle of Life and completely ignore my feelings."

Kiara stopped pacing and looked outside the tree to where the Outlands were. She scowled determined.

"If no one in the Pridelands will help me, then I'll go look somewhere else."

* * *

Still sitting at the top of Pride Rock Nala wrinkled her nose when the first drops of rain began falling down on her. The hunters weren't back yet, but Nala was confident the rain wouldn't be a hindrance.

With a slight ruffle of his feathers Zazu landed next to Nala.

"This raining season sure has been something." Zazu muttered as he preened his feathers. "His majesty has been all over the place."

Nala nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it, these days Simba falls asleep the moment his body touches the floor. Did you happen to see him out there?"

"Why yes, while on lookout I saw him chasing a small group of hyenas back to the Outlands."

"Figures." Nala sighed.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Even if Simba wouldn't be coming back any time soon Nala knew he'd be fine, however there was a certain someone that shouldn't stay out long with that weather.

"Zazu, could you go get Kiara? She's with Tiifu and Zuri."

Zazu bowed. "Of course, right away."

As he took off Zazu only had to circle Pride Rock a couple of times before he located the pair of young cubs. The two were talking amongst each other, leaving the water hole presumably because of the rain, but much to Zazu's concern Kiara was nowhere in sight. Zazu had always had the bad luck of encountering trouble whenever he was assigned to look after a cub, several times before with Kiara and of course with Simba too, but as much as he was hoping he was wrong Zazu couldn't shake the feeling that big trouble was brewing.

Upon questioning Tiifu and Ziru the two explained that Kiara had left quickly after talking with them and that she seemed to be upset about something. When she walked away it looked like Kiara was going to Rafiki's tree.

Zazu didn't dare to go to Nala until he found Kiara and darted towards Rafiki's tree, doing his best to contain his growing panic. As he got closer however Zazu halted to a stop in midair when he caught sight of a recognizable small lion figure running straight to the Outlands.

"Just where does she think she's going?!" Zazu shrieked in disbelief.

Kiara was slowly approaching the border of the Pridelands, but luckily for him her legs were short and he could quickly catch up to her if he kept going at a constant speed. As he got closer Zazu tried calling for Kiara, but either she was ignoring him or couldn't hear him.

However with his eyes focused on Kiara, Zazu didn't notice the incoming flock of egrets that clashed against him and blocked his view. Suddenly pushed away Zazu was thrown off balance and struggled to recover while also avoiding the many egrets that squawked at him in surprise.

When the flock finally finished flying by pass him Zazu struggled to gain height once more. He searched for Kiara where he last saw her, but gasped in panic when she was no longer there. Zazu flew frantically around in the hopes she was still nearby, but both the rain and his fear failed to help him concentrate. Figuring it was best to not lose any more time searching Zazu flew as quickly as his wings could take him back to Pride Rock.

Waiting patiently outside the den Nala frowned concerned when she finally spotted the hornbill rushing back with a horrified expression all over his face.

"N-Nala!"

"Zazu? What happened? Where's Kiara?"

Zazu stumbled as he landed, doing his best to recover his breath to form full sentences.

"K-Kiara… she-she's going to the Outlands!" Zazu panted.

"What?!"

Nala looked over to the Outlands preoccupied. With this rain Kiara could easily get lost, and even if she didn't and successfully made it to the Outlands she was most certainly going to encounter dangerous hunters, including a certain lioness.

"Zazu, I'll go look for Kiara. You look for Simba and tell him to find me."

"Y-Yes! Right away!"

Zazu nodded frantically and took off, watching worriedly how Nala hurriedly climbed down Pride Rock and dashed towards the savannah. He was beyond concerned for Kiara, but she wasn't the only one that was at risk.

* * *

 **Oh boy we're almost at the end, probably two more chapters left. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hold on to your seats! Things suddenly take quite a turn for Kiara.**

* * *

Kiara had no idea what she was doing, and she wasn't giving it much thought either, but in that moment all she knew was that she couldn't stop. Disregarding everything in her surroundings Kiara kept her eyes fixated on the Outlands, concentrating purely in her goal.

As rain kept pouring down Kiara's paws slowly got dirtier and covered with mud, and the humidity in the air made it harder to see far in the distance. Her lungs were growing tired with every passing second, so to catch her breath even for a bit Kiara jumped into tall grass to remain hidden from any predators.

Once completely secured in the grass Kiara sat down and panted tiredly. The brief moment of solitude brought her mind back to reality and she began to think things through. Exactly what was her plan? If she wanted to go to the Outlands she'd either have to somehow cross that crocodile river she barely got through back then or go around the river, but from where she was it would take quite some time.

And if somehow she did make it to the other side without problems how exactly was she supposed to traverse the Outlands safely? There was the potential threat of hyenas, or lions…

Kiara shook her head and huffed, shaking the thought out of her mind.

"I'll worry about that later… Right now, I have to get there no matter what."

Kiara stood up and tried to peek above the grass, but it surpassed her immensely in height. She looked around her anxiously, just realizing that she had no idea where she had come in from and everything looked the same.

Given the circumstances Kiara couldn't afford to lose much time, so she just chose a random direction and began walking. The wet grass tangled around her body slowing her movement and the mud beneath her paws made it slippery and unstable, but Kiara did her best to keep going forward, desperately searching for any sign of an exit.

As she kept going forward the sky grew darker above her and the sunlight grew dimmer as it could barely pass through the clouds. Kiara gulped nervously, hoping she was still going in the right direction.

However in the attempt to move as quickly as possible Kiara stopped paying attention to the ground beneath her and didn't notice the oncoming slope. Her paws flailed and searched for the earth to try and regain her balance, but before Kiara could recover her posture she rolled downhill. Everything was a blur, and Kiara was overwhelmed with panic and fear as she lost control and felt her body fall against rocks and branches. When Kiara finally skidded to a stop she landed roughly on her side, every inch of her body aching.

Disregarding her possible injuries Kiara struggled to stand up, grateful she was out of the tall grass but still disoriented. Back on all fours Kiara glanced around to see if she could recognize anything familiar.

"Where am I?"

Nothing. Nothing seemed familiar. Kiara circled the area panicked searching desperately for something that could help her get back on track, but no matter how much she looked she couldn't find anything.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Kiara cried to the skies.

If she could find anyone they certainly could help her find her way back. She was the daughter of the king, surely any subject of Simba would be more than happy to help.

"Are you lost?"

Relief washed over Kiara as someone coming from the tall grass answered to her calls, but it was short lived when chortles and laughter replied after the voice.

Kiara felt her body freeze in place when she saw three hyenas slowly step towards her.

"Oh Banzai look, we found a snack for the road." Shenzi grinned.

Fear paralyzed Kiara in place. Her mind raced and screamed at her to run away, but her legs wouldn't even budge.

There was nothing in the world she wanted more in that moment than to run away. But run where? She was lost. Even if she did run what if she got even more lost? Sure, getting lost was a million times better than being some hyenas' dinner, but could Kiara really outrun them? Her surroundings, the weather, her physical state; everything was against her odds.

Ed's cynical laughter brought Kiara out of her thoughts.

"Wait haven't I seen this runt before?" Banzai squinted his eyes carefully looking over the trembling cub, causing Kiara's heart to race faster.

"No way!" Shenzi laughed wholeheartedly in realization. "That's Simba's cub!"

Kiara slowly moved backwards as the hyenas got closer to her.

"It's been a while since we last got a taste of royal lion." Banzai snickered. "Though the last one wasn't as tender as I would have liked."

Still going backwards Kiara felt her heart stop when a large boulder stopped her from going any further away. Completely cornered she watched as Banzai and Ed laughed amused and Shenzi walked a few steps closer with a mocking smile.

"And what is Simba's precious little daughter doing here? You know he's probably worried sick." Shenzi murmured with a devious smile.

Right, Simba. He probably was busy somewhere else and had no idea Kiara was lost in the first place. Kiara felt tears gather at the corner of her eyes. She wouldn't see her parents ever again, she wouldn't spend any more lazy joyful afternoons with her friends, and she wouldn't get the chance to meet her sibling. What wouldn't Kiara give to at least say goodbye to everyone.

Kiara inwardly cursed herself. If only she hadn't been so reckless she wouldn't be in this mess. Simba had created new rules to protect her, and the moment she broke them Kiara found herself in danger. It was all her fault.

There was no way out.

"Thanks for the snack lion cub." Shenzi chuckled.

"Hey!" Banzai called impatiently. "Are we going to eat her or-"

From the tall grass behind them Nala jumped out with a mighty roar and tackled Banzai. Taken by surprise Shenzi and Ed barely had the chance to turn around and see what happened before they were swiped away by Nala.

"M-Mom!" Kiara cried both relieved and scared at the same time.

Nala didn't bother to check on Kiara and immediately stood in front of her protectively seeing how the three hyenas were standing up again.

"Stay behind me Kiara." Nala murmured.

Shenzi shook her head dizzily and huffed annoyed.

"Nala…"

"What the?" Banzai stuttered surprised. "Where did she come from?"

"All three of you leave." Nala growled.

Banzai sighed resigned. "We can't take her on, let's just go. It's not worth it."

They might be hungry but they weren't stupid. If any group of hyenas wanted to take down an adult lion they'd definitely need more than three on their side, especially against a female who had highly developed hunting skills.

For a moment Shenzi was ready to call it a day, but when her eyes spotted something unusual she smiled a triumphant toothy grin.

"What if we don't?" Shenzi defied confident, causing Banzai and Ed to look at each other confused.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Nala scoffed.

"I wouldn't try doing so if I were you darling." Shenzi said amused. "Do you really want to risk that precious bundle you're carrying with you?"

Kiara gasped in realization.

Nala didn't seem to be phased and remained where she stood. It was true she could easily take on three hyenas any other day, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle them while protecting Kiara, herself and the cub at the same time. She was doubting, but she couldn't let the hyenas know.

"A bundle? What are you-?" Banzai argued confused, but widened his eyes when Shenzi nudged to Nala's growing belly. "Ohh!" Banzai shook his head in amused disbelief. "Can't believe she almost had us for a second!"

Nala had been hoping the hyenas wouldn't notice her pregnancy, but now that they realized she couldn't fight with her full potential she wouldn't be able to scare them off.

Shenzi, Banzai and Ed laughed mischievously amongst each other as they surrounded Nala.

"Not so scary now are ya?" Banzai smirked.

Nala unsheathed her claws once more, baring her fangs menacingly.

Still cowering behind her mother Kiara watched how Nala's body stiffened as the hyenas got closer. They knew Nala would give her all to protect her cubs, even if it meant she got hurt in the process. Nala was in danger because of her, and if her mother was injured, her sibling could also suffer consequences. How did it all come to this?

Almost in unison Shenzi, Banzai and Ed jumped at Nala. They latched onto her back and neck, biting and scratching at her fur as much as they could before Nala's paws swiped them off her. As one touched the ground another jumped back to attack, and Nala found herself in a never-ending cycle of getting them off her over and over again.

Nala's growling and the hyenas' wails as they were lashed at were all that could be heard. Never feeling so impotent before in her life Kiara watched horrified as her mother got injured while struggling to keep her safe. Kiara had never seen her mother fight, and to see firsthand the kind of strength she possessed was an experience she would never forget. It was both scary and amazing to be witnessing such a scene.

With a thundering roar Nala pushed the hyenas all off her with a powerful swipe. They skidded on the ground with painful groans, but still managed to stand up again. The many scratches Nala had landed on them had wounded them superficially, but they were nothing compared to how Nala was. Weakened from fighting all three of them at the same time while still securing Kiara left her with little energy left, and the wounds her body received didn't make things any easier.

They hyenas remained with the advantage and they all knew it.

"M-Mom? Are you okay?" Kiara whimpered.

"Kiara no matter what happens you stay behind me." Nala said sternly, silencing any other thing Kiara may have wanted to say.

"Alright it was fun at first but I'm starting to get tired of this." Shenzi growled. "However, if you give us the cub we'll consider letting you go."

Nala glanced back at Kiara to meet her fearful eyes. Curled up in a corner and shivering Kiara looked so small and frail, just like when she was born. Nala turned back to face the hyenas and looked down at the bloody water beneath her paws. Was all that really hers? She barely felt any pain, but upon taking a better look at her body Nala chuckled sadly at seeing all the fresh scratches she was left with.

Nala glared back at the hyenas, feeling more determined than ever.

"Over my dead body."

Shenzi scoffed.

"Have it your way."

With a coordinated jump the three hyenas lunged at Nala. She was ready for the blow to come, but panicked when she realized all three were targeting three different weak spots. Nala growled in pain when she felt claws latch onto her neck, lower back, and the side of her belly. With precise and agile movements Nala managed to get them all off, but just as before they continued to jump back relentlessly.

If it kept going the way it was Nala wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer.

She needed help, she was weak and tired, and yet Kiara could only sit and watch terrified how her mother fought to keep them all alive. Why couldn't she do anything? Why did she have to be so weak and useless when she was needed the most? If she didn't do anything… it would all be over.

"Over here Sire!"

From above them a flash of red leaped out from the savannah to break Nala and the hyenas apart with powerful swipes.

The moment she was finally free Nala immediately turned around to hold Kiara between her paws and completely hid her beneath her body. In the safety of her mother's hold Kiara couldn't see anything, but the roars and whimpers were more than enough to let her know what was happening.

As soon as it was safe to do so Zazu landed next to Nala's head, gently brushing his wings against her muzzle quietly asking if she was alright. Nala mustered a weak smile and nodded to the hornbill, grateful he arrived when he did.

There was nothing more terrifying than a furious king fighting to protect someone they loved. That was a lesson Shenzi, Banzai and Ed had learned a long time ago the hard way when they encountered Mufasa, and since then they hadn't been as terrified as they had been in that moment. But right then with Simba pouncing at them with such force and rage, nothing but terror and regret filled their minds.

Beaten and wounded Shenzi, Banzai and Ed felt shivers run down their spines when Simba captured them between his paws and towered over them menacingly.

"If you ever come near my family again…" Simba threatened infuriated.

"Y-Y-Your family?" Banzai stuttered.

"Not just my family. If I ever see you again anywhere near the Pridelands I won't spare you." Simba snarled.

"Right! Right! You won't see us again!" Shenzi laughed nervously, Ed frantically nodding his head in agreement.

With one final roar from Simba the three hyenas hurried and fearfully limped away, not daring to look back.

As soon as they left Nala finally let Kiara go, allowing herself to sit down and recover her breath. However even though the threat was gone and Nala was no longer keeping her hidden Kiara didn't have it in her to stand up and face her parents. Still scared she remained curled up right where she was, not daring to open her eyes.

Seeing the young princess so paralyzed with fear Zazu completely forgot how angry he was with her for making him worry and gently made his way towards her. He placed a friendly wing over her head and patted it gingerly, urging Kiara to open her eyes.

"Everything is okay now." He murmured reassuringly.

Kiara finally opened her eyes to face the smiling hornbill.

No, it wasn't okay. Everything that had happened was her fault, and the animal she feared to face the most in that moment was right in front of her still recovering his breath.

* * *

 **Well that was fun. In case you haven't been able to tell I'm a sucker for adding references, and there will be a particular one too in the next and final chapter.**

 **I always found it weird that in the Lion Guard we never see Shenzi, Banzai or Ed, and since I'm pretty sure they didn't die in the battle against Simba I wondered what happened to them that they just dissapeared. I needed some hyenas as villians, but with Janja too young and that plothole I took the opportunity to fill it in ^^**

 **Kiara is finally going to get that father-daughter conversation she's been meaning to have. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

It had a been a long time since Simba ever felt so scared. The moment Zazu found him and frantically told him Kiara and possibly Nala were in danger Simba felt his body grow cold. The pounding of his heart drew him to run faster than he ever had in his life, and when he finally distinguished in the distance the form of Nala being attacked by hyenas as she desperately fought to keep Kiara safe nothing but rage filled him.

His mind had been completely blank and his body moved on its own. Almost in a blur it was over, and with the threat gone the adrenaline in his body ran out and exhaustion finally hit Simba. His lungs begged him to take a moment to recover his breath. The rain suddenly felt cold as it fell on him and everything around him slowly settled down, it was as if he suddenly returned to reality.

As he panted heavily Simba quietly collected his thoughts only to be overwhelmed with concern. He rushed to Nala's side and nuzzled her relieved to see she was still standing.

"Don't scare me like that again…" Simba murmured only for Nala to hear.

"Sorry." Nala smiled sadly against his wet mane. "But I'm fine, thanks to you."

Simba pulled away and looked at Nala unsure, frowning preoccupied as he took a closer look at her injuries. Bites, scratches, and fresh blood covered her fur. Almost immediately Simba checked for any serious injuries near her belly, and though he didn't see any it didn't make him feel any better either.

"I'll be fine." Nala insisted and pressed her forehead against Simba's.

Though any other day Simba would have continued arguing about it he decided to drop it for now, there was someone else he had to check on too.

Simba nodded reluctantly and pulled away from Nala, directing his eyes in Kiara's direction. She was still sitting on the same spot, nervously looking at the ground as Zazu patted her head comfortingly.

There was not a single scratch on Kiara. For a very brief instant relief washed over him and Simba quietly thanked they were both okay, only for it to be abruptly replaced by anger.

"Can either of you explain to me why you're at the border of the Outlands when I clearly said it was forbidden?" Simba asked angrily to both lionesses.

Nala huffed indignant at Simba for even thinking she had been so careless.

"Zazu told me Kiara was going to the Outlands and I went after her."

All eyes immediately fell on Kiara. Shyly the cub stood up and walked a few steps closer to Simba to try and explain, all the while dragging her tail between her legs.

"I…"

"Kiara what were you thinking?!" Simba interrupted her, the volume of his voice causing Kiara to flinch. "I told you the Outlands were dangerous. I told you not to leave the Pridelands! What if I hadn't found you on time? You could have been killed… and so could your mother!"

Simba's words fell heavily against Kiara's ears. The cub barely dared to look away from Simba to briefly glance at her mother, and guilt overcame her at seeing Nala weakly lick her injuries. He was right, she could have died, and so could her sibling.

"Didn't you learn anything from last time? There are animals out here that won't hesitate to kill you! What do you think would have happened if it had been Zira instead of the hyenas? I asked you to not leave because I want you to be safe… what could you have possibly been thinking to deliberately disobey me and leave the Pridelands?!"

Regret, shame, guilt and sadness overwhelmed Kiara all at once, and unable to hold it any longer the cub burst into tears. Simba suddenly fell quiet and watched in shock as his daughter cried her heart out.

Incapable of controlling her sobbing and hiccups Kiara struggled to form sentences, everything that she had held in during the last weeks finally bursting out.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" She sniffled. "I didn't k-know what to do!"

Simba and Nala exchanged concerned glances, deciding to let Kiara explain herself before saying anything else.

"I don't want to be queen! Everyone thinks I'm going to be a good queen but I'm so scared!" Kiara whimpered as she shook, tears still running out of her eyes. "No one even asked me if I wanted to be queen in the first place, I had no choice! But what if I disappoint everyone?! What if I disappoint my sibling?! Everyone will hate me!"

Kiara found enough courage within her and looked back at her parents.

"I just wanted to talk to someone that would understand how I felt! No one in the Pridelands made me feel any better and I thought… I thought Kovu _would_ understand!"

With her tears slowly stopping Kiara looked back at the ground to quietly sob to herself, waiting for whatever punishment her parents were ready to deliver.

Nala turned at Simba with a pleading frown, almost as if asking him to not press the issue anymore.

Simba sighed. It had been a long day, everyone was tired, and judging by Kiara's confession the cub had been going through some rough moments; there was no point in scolding her any further, it was clear she was conscious of her mistakes.

"I… I'm just glad you're both safe." Simba finally murmured.

Kiara looked at Simba in surprise when his voice returned to its usual soft tone.

"Let's go back, we can talk once we get home."

With the utmost of care Simba leaned down and picked up Kiara by the scruff, signaling Nala with a nudge of his head that it was time to leave.

"Zazu lead the way." Nala called to the hornbill.

Zazu, whom had been quietly sitting behind Nala watching the scene unfold, quietly nodded and took flight ahead of them, making sure to remain close enough to guide them through the rain.

The journey back was completely silent, and despite the cold rain showering them somewhere along the way Kiara fell asleep.

Walking behind Simba Nala could already tell there were a lot of things going through his mind. She was also thinking things over herself, linking Kiara's sudden question that same morning with everything that had happened, but without a doubt Simba was the one most troubled.

Just as they arrived by Rafiki's tree Simba sought its shade and softly placed Kiara on dry land to let her sleep and murmured something to Zazu Nala couldn't hear. Zazu nodded, still bearing a solemn expression on his features, and flew above to the tree's branches.

Simba quietly sighed to himself and sat down next to Kiara, shaking the water off his mane.

Intrigued as to why they stopped on the way to Pride Rock Nala approached Simba with a confused frown and sat down next to him.

"Everything okay?"

Simba looked up at the sky to barely distinguish the rays of the setting sun seeping through the clouds. Tired both emotionally and physically Simba turned at Nala slowly, his gaze lingering on her for a few moments.

"Not yet. I'll feel a lot better once Rafiki takes care of your injuries."

So that's why they had stopped.

"Simba I told you I was fine, they're just superfi-"

"Nala, please don´t." Simba interrupted her tiredly.

Nala's voice left her when she met Simba's pleading eyes. They looked so desperate and scared, almost begging her go with it for his sake. She wanted to say something, anything to try and make him feel better, but Nala found herself at a loss for words.

"You know, for a moment I thought it was Zira." Simba spoke solemnly. "I was a little relieved to see it wasn't her, but… but after seeing you in danger with a puddle of blood beneath you I completely lost it." Simba sighed. "Even if you tell me you're okay of course I'll still worry."

He had a point. If it were the other way around Nala would probably feel the exact same way.

With sudden regret filling her chest Nala moved closer to Simba to cuddle by his side. Even though at that moment Simba's mane was uneven and wet no matter the circumstances its softness always made Nala feel better.

"I just want you to be safe, all three of you." Simba murmured.

"I know."

The couple sat in silence for a few more minutes before Zazu flew back down the tree with Rafiki not so far behind him.

"Simba, Nala, what seems to be da problem?" The mandrill spoke as he approached them, only to stop surprised upon noticing Nala's injuries. "Oh goodness!"

"Rafiki, could you please check Nala? I want to be sure she and the cub are fine." Simba asked with an anxious frown.

"Of course! Of course!" Rafiki approached Nala and placed his hand on her back to guide her along with him. "Dis way come on."

As they walked around the tree out of their sight Simba let out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding. The last few weeks Simba had spent them endlessly running around chasing hyenas, but after all the emotional turmoil he had gone through that day he felt more exhausted than ever. Zazu noticed his evident distress and landed in front of the lion to face him.

Though it was true Zazu was beyond relieved nothing serious came out of the situation the shock hadn't completely left him. He had only been a witness, and though he mustered smiles of encouragement he had been terrified the whole time. He could only imagine what Simba was feeling.

"Everything will be alright Sire, just you wait." Zazu encouraged with a weak smile.

Appreciating his efforts Simba returned the gesture.

"Thank you Zazu."

Slowly the rain began to diminish, and the clouds finally parted to reveal the nocturne sky. A cold calming breeze blew by them and ruffled Simba's still drying mane.

"It's getting late, you should probably head back Zazu. I'll wait for Nala here with Kiara."

Zazu frowned hesitant.

"Are you sure Sire? I can stay here with you if you'd like." Zazu said with a hint of concern in his voice.

Though company was always appreciated in that moment Simba needed to settle his thoughts by himself.

"I'm sure, don't worry Zazu. You can go." Simba reassured the hornbill.

Not entirely convinced but deciding to trust the word of his king Zazu nodded, bowed respectfully and took off, glancing behind him one final time.

When Zazu got far away enough Simba turned to look at his still sleeping daughter that lied beside him. Kiara had been through enough for that day, but Simba needed to talk with her urgently before it was over.

* * *

"So everything's fine?"

"Yes, Rafiki said my wounds should heal without a problem as long as I take it easy the next few days."

"… And the cub?"

"Safe and sound."

Kiara yawned awake by the sound of her parents' voice not so far away from her. She opened her eyes to find herself by Rafiki's tree, with Pride Rock not so far ahead and Simba and Nala talking their way back towards her.

As she sat up both lions noticed her awake and stopped right on their tracks.

"I… I have to talk to Kiara." Simba mumbled quietly.

Nala nodded knowingly.

"I'll go ahead then."

With a quick lick to his muzzle Nala continued walking to leave Simba behind. As she passed by Kiara the cub looked at her nervously, but Nala smiled softly in her direction before continuing on her way back to Pride Rock.

The moment Nala was out of hearing range Simba approached Kiara and subtly nudged his head so she followed him.

"Come with me Kiara."

Kiara nodded shyly and followed her father's footprints, feeling a little insecure as they left Rafiki's tree behind them.

The bad thing about having serious conversations with Simba was that he usually never raised his voice, yet somehow it still felt she was being scolded at. His words always carried deep meaning and made her chest feel heavy, like a new added burden to her conscience. However, Kiara had been wanting to talk with Simba for a while, and as nervous as she felt in that moment she knew it was for the best.

As they walked through an empty meadow Kiara saw the stars for the first time in days. The rain had so slowly come to a stop that she barely noticed when the gray clouds disappeared.

Almost abruptly Simba stopped walking and sat down on the dew-covered grass, Kiara doing the same.

She waited obediently for Simba to say the first word, but as the silence between them continued she grew more nervous. Was he angry at her? Should she apologize again? Or maybe it was best she stayed quiet? No, there was no way she could stay quiet, not after everything that happened. If Simba was angry with her Kiara honestly didn't blame him.

"I'm sorry dad…" Kiara murmured.

Simba smiled sadly in Kiara's direction.

"It's okay princess, I already forgave you."

There was no way he could stay mad at her, he had gone through the exact same thing. At first Simba thought being king would be all fun and games, but when reality hit him and he found himself lost in an unknown jungle he left everything behind and ran away to start anew. At the time he was the future king, and like everyone else he was supposed to play his part in the Circle of Life, but out of fear Simba decided to abandon everyone.

"B-But why? Aren't you mad that I don't want to be queen?" Kiara asked confused, feeling like she didn't deserve his forgiveness. "I put mom and my sibling in danger!"

Simba knew what it was like to be scared, he knew it better than anyone.

"You're right Kiara, you did something very reckless." Simba said matter of factly. "But I'm not angry. I understand why you feel that way, it's only normal that you do."

"…Really?"

Simba lied down on the grass to be at eye level with Kiara, smiling reassuringly at the cub.

"Really."

Despite Simba's amicable words Kiara still felt at a loss. He had forgiven her so easily it almost didn't feel right, and he also understood why she did it. Kiara couldn't help feeling a little guilty, it would be better if she was just punished instead.

Seeing Kiara was still visibly troubled Simba continued.

"Kiara, being ruler of the Pridelands is not easy. There will be a lot of times you'll have to make tough decisions, and your leadership and wisdom will be key to earn your subject's respect. It's not something anyone can do, and Scar is clear proof of that."

Kiara's ears folded down her head.

"Then how can you be so sure I'll be able to do it? I don't feel ready." Kiara admitted worriedly.

Simba chuckled softly.

"You're right, you're not ready."

Kiara widened her eyes in confusion and pouted while glaring at Simba.

"That's exactly what I mean! See? Even you can tell I'm not ready!" She whined annoyed.

Simba's amused smile vanished as his tone changed to a serious one.

"No one is born ready Kiara. I wasn't born ready, and neither was your grandfather."

Kiara's ears perked up intrigued. So she wasn't the only one? A sense of relief washed over her and a shy small appeared on her features. Knowing that at some point Mufasa could have felt as troubled as she did made her feel at ease.

"Then how do you get ready?" Kiara asked timidly.

"With time." Simba smiled. "You're still young Kiara, you have a lot of growing up to do, and while you do I'll teach you everything you need to know. I'll be here to guide you until the day you're ready."

A spark of happiness shone in Kiara's eyes and a wide toothy smile appeared on her muzzle.

"And while you're here can I talk to you whenever I need it?"

Kiara laughed when Simba's mane tickled her face as he nuzzled her.

"Of course you can, just no more crazy stunts."

When Simba pulled away Kiara skipped happily to sit between his paws, getting comfortable against his chest. It had been so easy. It only took Simba a few moments with Kiara to immediately relieve her of all her concerns; any other day Kiara would have thought that was impossible.

"Thank you daddy." Kiara sighed content. "All this time I spent worried it felt as if no one would ever understand me, it was very… lonely. But knowing you'll be with me makes me feel a lot better."

Simba wanted to be with Kiara for as long as he could, but the reality was that one day he wouldn't be there with her anymore. But even though it was true that his time in the Pridelands would eventually come to an end Simba would still look after Kiara, no matter what.

A sense of melancholy filled Simba as he looked up at the stars.

"Kiara, let me tell you something that my father told me." He murmured softly.

Intrigued Kiara followed her father's gaze to look at the clear nocturne sky.

"Look at the stars, the great kings of the past look down on us from those stars."

Kiara quietly gasped in awe. There were countless stars shining down on her, reaching as far as her eyes could see. Could Mufasa be somewhere among them?

"Really?"

"Yes." Simba replied confident. "So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you."

Simba looked down to meet Kiara's eyes with a reassuring smile.

"And so will I."

* * *

 **Yes everyone is finally happy!**

 **I underestimated this chapter, so in order to not drag it for too long I'll be adding the epilogue on its own chapter next time so please look forward to that! Thanks for reading ^^**


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The sun shone bright across the savannah, and outside of Pride Rock's den Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri happily talked amongst them as they sunbathed. Usually they would have gone to the water hole, but because it was to be expected that Kiara's trip to the Outlands wouldn't come without consequences the cub was still going through her punishment of not leaving Pride Rock. On the bright side there were only a few days left before she regained her freedom.

"How long does this usually take again?" Tiifu asked as she glanced curiously at the den.

"No idea." Kiara shrugged. "But it's not like these things can be rushed."

A light breeze blew her fur as something quickly zoomed by Kiara. Curious she turned behind her to see what had rushed out of the den so quickly, but only managed to see a bird hurriedly flying in the distance. Was that Zazu just now?

"I don't think I can wait any longer the suspense is killing me!" Zuri exclaimed excitedly. "I don't know about you guys but I wouldn't mind having another princess around here to hang out with."

"What? No way, we need a prince! What if he's really cute?" Tiifu giggled.

"You don't even know what he'd be like Tiifu." Kiara chuckled. "Besides even if I had a brother who says he'll fall for you?"

Tiifu smiled confident and crossed her front paws with poise.

"Please Kiara how could he say no to this?"

Kiara rolled her eyes amused and smiled in defeat.

"What about you Kiara?" Zuri spoke up. "Do you want a brother or a sister?"

Kiara hummed in thought to herself. Honestly she hadn't been thinking about it much, but when it came to personal preference it didn't seem to make any difference.

"Well I'm fine with either honestly. As long as everything turns out okay I'm good." Kiara said as she discreetly glanced back at the den.

The three cubs gasped in surprise when suddenly Zazu flew by them with a running Simba hurriedly following the hornbill back to the inside of the den. Neither bothered to talk or even look at the cubs, both too focused in arriving to their destination.

"Wow…" Tiifu murmured in surprise. "I didn't think Simba would be that worried. He sure seemed to be in a rush."

Kiara smiled to both her friends, chuckling shyly.

"He can't help it, dad really cares about us."

Panting tiredly Simba quickly looked for Nala as soon as he made it inside. When he spotted her by the far end of the cave he hurried to her side, and found himself at a loss for words when he saw Nala cleaning a tiny cub between her paws.

"Nala." Simba whispered gleefully as he nuzzled her.

Nala sighed contently against the softness of Simba's mane, allowing herself to be pampered by his nuzzles. Though utterly rejoiced Nala was tired, and the warmth and softness of Simba's fur comforted her.

"Simba, we have a son."

He felt his heart skip a beat. Still keeping Nala close to him Simba took a moment to look at the cub between Nala's paws. His son was so very small, mewling in distress with his eyes still closed. Simba smiled proudly to himself at noticing the unmistakable bright golden fur the cub had.

"Kion." Simba murmured blissfully.

The name rolled off his tongue almost instantly, but somehow despite not giving it much thought he and Nala both felt it was perfect.

Simba let himself be succumbed by the warm fuzzy feeling growing inside his chest and purred contently against Nala's muzzle. In that instant it felt as if nothing at all had happened during the last few weeks, almost like it had been nothing but a bad dream that Simba had just woken up from.

Though a bit reluctantly Simba pulled away from Nala, smiling shyly as she nodded knowingly. He turned around and walked back outside where the three young cubs were still waiting. As soon as they saw him they immediately stopped talking and looked expectantly in his direction.

"Kiara, there's someone we'd like you to meet." Simba smiled softly.

Suddenly overwhelmed by nervousness and excitement at the same time Kiara stood up shakily, glancing back at Tiifu and Zuri. Both her friends nodded and smiled encouragingly at Kiara, urging her to get on her way.

Quietly breathing in to calm her beating heart Kiara walked cautiously towards the den, Simba following right behind her.

As she saw them come back in Nala smiled in their direction, noticing how Kiara seemed uncertain and wary, walking slowly as if she was afraid to disturb her sibling.

"It's okay Kiara, you can get closer." Nala assured her.

Kiara didn't notice when she stopped walking, but when Simba softly nudged her to keep going the cub jumped in surprise and managed to force her legs onward.

Spotting yellow fur hidden between her mother's paws Kiara gasped awestruck at seeing the tiny lion cub that fidgeted disoriented against Nala's chest.

"Kiara this is your brother, Kion."

Slowly Kiara guided her paw to barely touch Kion's fur, a wide smile appearing on her maw when he mewled in response.

She always used to feel small. Whenever Kiara was sitting by her parents or watching the Pridelands from Pride Rock she'd always feel so small compared to everything around her. But right then, seeing how her paw was twice the size of Kion's head a sense marvel and wonder filled her.

"He's so small." Kiara chuckled.

Almost as if responding to her voice Kion struggled to open his eyes and met Kiara's. Though a bit shade lighter than hers Kion's eyes were brown hazel too, unmistakable proof that he too had taken after Simba.

From behind Kiara Simba leaned down to be at her eye level.

"Kiara from now on be sure to look after Kion okay?" Simba smiled at Kiara.

That's right, she was a big sister, and though at first it was hard to imagine what it'd be like now that Kiara had Kion right before her very eyes a wave of love and pride filled her. Something inside of her told her to always look out for him, especially now that he was so small, and Kiara was determined to do so.

"Don't worry daddy, you can leave it to me. I'll be the best big sister ever." Kiara replied confidently.

Though at first Kiara was scared she'd wouldn't be a good older sister in that moment every ounce of doubt had already vanished. It was almost certain that there were a lot of things she didn't know yet of being a good role model for her sibling, but she was willing to go as far as needed to learn to do so.

Kiara smiled down at Kion.

"And that's a promise, because your big sister will also be the best queen ever."

* * *

 **The End**

 **And it's over! From here on out Kiara continued working hard to be both a good queen and big sister! Perhaps she hasn't mastered the latter in The Lion Guard yet, but you she's still a work in progress ^^**

 **Thanks to everyone for reading! I really hope you enjoyed the story and thought this was a good possible explanation for what happened in that period of TLK story. Special thanks to yingyangmaster and GraceKim1 for your constant support! You two always helped me keep going~**

 **See you next time!**


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